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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

4-D Printing: Because 3-D Printing is Sooooo Last Year (video)

With 3-D printing being all the rage right now with endless possibilites from the public consumer level to high-profile applications such as the ISS and the US military... it only makes sense to talk about how this tech may evolve in the future... Here comes 4-D Printing.

-Check out a video of how it works below:

4D Printing isn't anything new... the idea has been in talks for a while now, but it has really caught the interest of the US army to where they put a whole lot of cash into the tech.

In essence, the "fourth dimension" represents change - 4D printing simply refers to printers that create objects that can transform over time and, in some cases, self-assemble.

Kinematics is a system for 4D printing that creates complex, foldable forms composed of articulated modules. The system provides a way to turn any three-dimensional shape into a flexible structure using 3D printing.

Pretty cool, huh?The future possibilities with 4D printing could be used to 3D/4D print outposts that can self assemble in remote areas on Earth as well as the Moon/Mars 'before' the people even get there. Or even print products that can assemble themselves, cutting out expensive factories with underpaid workers... What are your thoughts on this?